Bladedancer
Born as Alexander Farshine, Chou Lee/Li (力綢 pinyin Lì Chóu), code name Bladedancer/Blade Dancer, is the Handmaid of the Tao and and enrolled as a Whateley student despite technically not being a mutant. MID General Description Alexander Farshine was an average boy from Knoxville, TN who bought a sword from an old Chinese gentleman at a gun show, and discovered that it was Destiny's Wave, an ancient Chinese blade, weapon of the Handmaid of the Tao. He also found, much to his bemusement, that when he had it out of its box it turned him into a Chinese girl, who was a bit shorter and lighter than he was used to being. The box is destroyed on the way to Whateley by the Demon Lord of the Hell of Fiery Immersion, leaving her permanently female. She chooses the name Chou Lee. It turns out that having the blade makes her the Handmaiden of Destiny, the Keeper of the Balance, and sometimes the human embodiment of the Tao. She's sponsored to Whateley by the Eight Immortals, and rooms with Phase. The Monkey King also shows up frequently, to the consternation of most people around her. After the debacle with the Chinese God of War on Parent's day 2006, the Immortals provide her with a teacher. Handmaid of the Tao The Chinese term is 婢女道 (pinyin bìnǚ dào) with bìnǚ (slave-girl) as verb and Tao as the object, so it literally means something like "one who serves the Tao like a slave girl". Unlike other possible renderings this implies that the Handmaid of the Tao behaves like and has the status of a servant only when interacting with the Tao and might have a much higher status otherwise. The Handmaid is thought to arise in response to a specific threat to balance, be it large or small, good or evil. People in the know think she is responsible for depopulating the state of Yue in the time of Emperor Liu Bang.Tea and Synergy Appearance Looks like Zhang Ziyi, of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon fame except for her verdant jade green eyes. She has straight black longer than shoulder length hair and generally wears a pair of Yoga pants and a long necked sleeveless Mandarin top. Many of the stories involving Chou have pictures of her. Powers By herself, she's a highly trained baseline with awesome martial arts skills and an awakened Chi sense. She picks up a number of other powers that are mystical in nature, none of which are mutant. When the Tao fills her, she is essentially unbeatable. However, that only happens when she has to correct something to Maintain the Balance. There's a reason her initial in-take assessment had put her as Exemplar 3, Esper 2, Wizard 2, Healer 2, Devisor 1.Destiny's Wave The Tao grants her those abilities, akin to how an avatar is granted abilities by a hosted spirit; she is Imbued by the Tao. Skills Tai Chi, Wu Dan sword, Lightfoot Gung Fu, other styles. Personality Fairly quiet and reserved, tends to interject ancient pieces of untranslatable Chinese wisdom into the conversation. Equipment Destiny's Wave Destiny's Wave (命運波 pinyin mìngyùn bō)Heather O'Malley on the Crystal Hall forums is an ancient Chinese sword that was forged by an Artificer (see Eldritch) and its fame has been compared to Excalibur . It has the soul of an ancient Chinese sage bound into it. It can cut through anything. The spirit acts as a tutor and also has its own power set. It is later revealed that the spririt has been a previous Handmaid. For Christmas 2007, the Monkey King gave her a talisman that she can use to make the sword and scabbard invisible so she can carry it anywhere. Robe of Midnight Given to her by her mentor, this robe seems to allow her to remain unnoticed. Flying Cloud A cloud that she can summon at will and fly upon, like the Monkey King uses in the novel Journey to the West. Her mentor gave her this as a present. Purse A Christmas gift from the Immortals, this rough silk patchwork bag can hold much more than normally could be expected — in fact, it could hold everything Chou owns, provided that it can fit through the opening. Weaknesses Nothing idiosyncratic. She's a baseline. Classes Fall 2006 *Basic Martial Arts With Toni and Jade, early in the day''Blade Dancing'' *Powers TheoryTo the Mountain: Part 2 *Introduction to Basic Mystic Concepts She's taking a magic class, and trying to take classes the Kimbas are in for help catching up, this has Nikki, Toni, and Sara, baring a Fourth Period conflict with something else this should be it. *Shao-Lin Sword with Sifu Chester Fitzgibbons, in the afternoon *Powers Lab not mentioned, but does go with Powers Theory Winter 2007 *Team Tactics First & Second Periods.Ayla and the Great Shoulder Angel Conspiracy: Chapter 1 - Ishim *Weapons Training and Mentoring from Dyffud Harraz. Fourth Period.Five Elements Dancing: Book of the Earth *Special Topics - Martial Arts Sixth Period. Associations *Poe Cottage room 216 **Phase - roommate *Team Kimba *Gateway - girlfriend *Chain Lightning - boyfriend *Rebecca Stone - mentor *Boston PD SWAT (Deputized auxiliary) Enemies: *Demon Lord of the Hell of Fiery Immersion *Tong of the Black Madonna Appearances References Category:Students Category:Team Kimba Category:Class of 2010 Category:Poe Cottage Category:Security Auxiliary Category:Transgendered characters Category:Healing Category:Imbued Category:Tennessee